Parachutes of the future to help soldiers survive after splashdown — designer

MOSCOW, September 6. /TASS/. The holding company Tekhnodinamika (an affiliate of Rostech) is conducting research into a new parachute that will help paratroops survive in case of accidental splashdown, the company’s press-service told TASS on Friday.

The Parachute Research and Development Institute has come up with a number of solutions making it far easier to get rid of the suspension system and the parachute’s dome.

"One of them is fast load disconnection locks at the loose ends of the parachute system, as well as fast-unlocking carabiners," Tekhnodinamika’s CEO Igor Nasenkov is quoted as saying. The carabiners will be equipped with special safety locks preventing them from opening unintentionally.

Also, the parachute’s suspension system will be complemented by an automatically inflated buoyancy bag, instantly activated in the water. An automatically activated flasher light will facilitate the search for soldiers on the water surface.

The current parachute D-10 will be upgraded, too, to ensure personnel safety after splashdown.

Fatal splashdowns

In June 2019, two Russian paratroops drowned in an airdrop operation at the Stary Krym (Old Crimea) proving ground. The subsequent inquiry found the soldiers had problems with detaching from the parachute in the water.